Month: September 2016

My mother and I had a terrible fright about a week ago; she called me up to tell me that Phe’s hind legs were so weak she was struggling to stand (Phe, Duchess, and Sassy are Off On An Adventure — AKA clearing brush at my parent’s house).

My first conclusion, based off of research, was that she had meningeal worms. Also called “Deer Worms,” these bastards are brought in, the larvae flourish in slugs and snails, and then get accidentally ingested by a variety of animals. They then move from the goat’s (or other animal’s) intestines into their spine, causing paralysis, nerve-damage, and can eventually invade the brain and kill them.

I called the after-hours emergency line. The vet told me that meningeal worms didn’t exist in the area I’m at.

Oh. Well so much for the Web Vet.

The vet got me an early morning appointment the next day to figure out what was going on. By that morning, Phe couldn’t stand without help.

Poor baby, she didn’t even complain the whole way to the vet.

One unhappy looking goat! Cute though.

The vet had to run a few blood tests before he found: Phe’s phosphorus count, which should’ve been around 8-9, was 1.5. He gave her a thiamine shot (a type of vitamin B that assists in neurological function) and a phosphorus shot. Unfortunately, phosphorus isn’t absorbed very well in shot form — it’s best if it’s ingested.

The vet recommended I go to a specific hay seller that tests all mineral and vitamin levels in the hays they sell — and get a hay that has an incorrect phosphorus-calcium balance, ergo, higher phosphorus or equal phosphorus to calcium.

In addition to this, he told me to pick up dicalcium phosphate (it comes in loose mineral form) to feed her. He said that I’d need to mix it with molasses to get her to eat it, since it smells funny.

I’ve always had a theory that goats (and animals in general) are smarter than we think about eating things they need (I mean, they’ll be stupid and eat things that are poisonous to them — but that’s a totally different blog post). I mean, they’re not geniuses about it, but I think they instinctively know some of the things they need.

Despite the phosphorus minerals smelling funny (and tasting bad?), Phe ate a TON of them without any trickery. And she has continued to do so in the following days!

Even with just the shots the vet gave her, she was SO much better even by the next morning. She went from unable to walk to drunken goat in 12 hours. By 36 hours she was almost completely normal, with only a little incoordination and occasional stumbling.

A WEEK LATER:

Scrambling around on the driveway and into the bushes — doing just fine!

We had some worry that her back legs were getting weak again, and she was no longer eating the phosphorus minerals. The vet figured her body was probably backed up in processing the phosphorus, and recommended a vitamin D shot, which aids in said processing.

We’re now trying a few tricks to continue getting the minerals in her, including making her up a ‘bottle’ with the dissolved minerals in milk. She was a bottle baby, so she’s more than happy to drink it!